Goodhue, Bertram (1869-1924)

Variant Name(s):

Bertram Grover Goodhue

Birthplace:

Connecticut

Residences:

  • New York City

Trades:

  • Architect

Styles & Forms:

Gothic Revival; Colonial Revival

Bertram Goodhue (April 28, 1869-April 23, 1924) was a major American architect who worked in a wide variety of styles and had important commissions from New England to Hawaii. He was known not only for his many prestigious Gothic Revival style church designs but also for edifices in Spanish Revival and other exotic modes. The son of Charles Wells Goodhue and Helen Grosvenor Goodhue, Bertram came from modest circumstances but he soon rose to prominence. In 1884 he moved to New York City, where he apprenticed with the architectural firm of Renwick, Aspinwall and Russell. He soon moved to Boston, where he met architect Ralph Adams Cram, with whom he formed a prolific and prestigious business partnership that continued for more than twenty years and attracted a stellar clientele. Cram left to begin his own practice in 1914. Cram was a devoted Gothicist, while Goodhue moved into a wider variety of styles, of which the towering State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska, is among the most famous.

Cram and Goodhue’s commissions in North Carolina included two churches and a private residence. The two Gothic Revival churches were for Episcopal congregations located in growing and taste-conscious cities: St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Durham and Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville and Durham. Especially interesting is the correspondence between the firm and William H. Lord, the prominent Asheville architect who was also involved with the design and construction of Trinity Episcopal Church. References suggest that Goodhue was directly involved. The Strudwick house commission took place during the Cram-Goodhue partnership; some accounts credit it chiefly to Cram. Cram continued to take commissions in North Carolina after Goodhue left their partnership.

William H. Lord Collection, University of North Carolina at Asheville.

“Bertram Goodhue” in Wikipedia.

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  • Sheppard Strudwick House

    Contributors:
    Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, architects; Ralph Adams Cram, architect; Bertram Goodhue, architect
    Variant Name(s):

    Tamarind

    Dates:

    1904

    Location:
    Hillsborough, Orange County
    Street Address:

    318 N. Churton St., Hillsborough, NC

    Status:

    Standing

    Type:

    Residential

    Images Published In:

    Lucile Noel Dula, Pelican Guide to Hillsborough (1979).


  • St. Philip's Episcopal Church

    Contributors:
    Central Carolina Construction Company, contractors; Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, architects; Ralph Adams Cram, architect; Bertram Goodhue, architect
    Dates:

    1907

    Location:
    Durham, Durham County
    Street Address:

    403 E. Main St., Durham, NC

    Status:

    Standing

    Type:

    Religious

    Images Published In:

    Catherine W. Bishir and Michael T. Southern, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Piedmont North Carolina (2003).
    Claudia P. Roberts (Brown) and Diane E. Lea, The Durham Architectural and Historic Inventory (1982).


  • Trinity Episcopal Church

    Contributors:
    Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, architects; Ralph Adams Cram, architect; Bertram Goodhue, principal architect; William H. Lord, supervising architect
    Dates:

    1912-1913

    Location:
    Asheville, Buncombe County
    Street Address:

    60 Church St., Asheville, NC

    Status:

    Standing

    Type:

    Religious

    Images Published In:

    Catherine W. Bishir, Michael T. Southern, and Jennifer F. Martin, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (1999).

    Note:

    As suggested in correspondence from Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson in the William H. Lord-Trinity Episcopal Church Papers, the principal architect for Trinity was Goodhue. Their correspondence is lively reading, including various clashes over authority of design among the vestry, the local architect, and the national firm, the latter being insistent on its full authorship and control of the design. See William H. Lord Collection, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Lord also supplied designs for a Sunday school addition in 1921.


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